Whole new ball game as Gareth makes debut in THAT red jersey
WHEN it comes to preparing for today’s Six Nations finale in France, nothing is left to chance for Alun Wyn Jones and his team.
The Welsh Rugby Union ensure the players have state-of-the art training facilities, the best sports science backup, nutritionsts to guide on which energy food and drink to consume.
They pour over data of the opposition on iPads, are afforded luxurious travel. Nothing is left to want.
Contrast that with the day the legendary Gareth Edwards made his Wales debut, 50 years ago in Paris.
At the age of 19, and with just six appearances for Cardiff behind him, Edwards was given his dream call for the game at the old Stade Colombes on April 1, 1967.
This was no April Fool’s joke... this was to prove the start of the career of the greatest player in rugby history.
As he reflects upon a day that Gareth says “is as clear in my mind today as it was back then,” he tells two stories which demonstrate how differently things are done in the modern professional era.
The first surrounds learning he was in the team, which followed a couple of Welsh Trial apperances.
“I was less than a year out of school, I’d only played a handful of games for Cardiff and a few others for Cardiff College of Education.” Gareth told the WRU website.
“On the day of the team announcement I was in college and I got one of my friends to telephone the Cardiff club to ask what the team was. I can still see him today, listening and nod- ding his head, and then suddenly he turned towards me and gave me the thumbs-up. I was stunned – couldn’t believe it.
“He put the phone down and I started to grill him. ‘Who did you speak to, what did they say?’ In the end I asked him to change his voice and ring again.
“He put another coin into the slot on the old telephone and rang again. He gave me the thumbs up for a second time and I was stunned – you could have flattened me there and then.”
The second Edwards tale surrounded his wish to link well with his captain and new half-back partner David Watkins. So the youngster suggested they might get together for a ‘throw about.’
“There was no squad training or preparation, so I arranged to meet with him at the Arms Park a few days before we went to France,” recalls Gareth.
“I was working in Neath in those days and got a bit stuck in traffic. When I arrived, David wasn’t even changed He said the groundsman wouldn’t give us a ball. I knew he played for rivals Newport, but I thought this was ridiculous!
“I told the groundsman ‘I’m playing
Ifor Wales on Saturday, can we have a ball please?’
“His answer was ‘I don’t care who you’re playing for, nobody told me about this.’ He wouldn’t budge, so we wrapped up David’s coat in the shape of a ball and practised with that!
“He gave me the confidence I needed and was a brilliant help to me.”
The rest, as the old cliche goes, is history. Gareth went on to play 53 successive games for Wales over an 11-year period, 10 for the Lions –including iconing triumphs in New Zealand and South Africa – became Wales’ youngest captain, scored the greatest try the game has witnessed –and was voted rugby’s number one player in history.
But he told this paper: “Despite what happened to me afterwards, that debut match in Paris still remains right up at the top of the pile when it comes to special memories.
“We lost the game, but I can still recall it clearly today. Ask any player and they will tell you the first time you get hold of that shirt and put it on, it’s the most incredible moment.
“You can have lots of successes afterwards, and I was fortunate enough to be involved in a few, and you invariably also get disapointments, but that first time still stands out the most. “Lots of my shirts and caps have gone to charities, or are in rugby clubhouses in Wales. But I’ve always made sure I kept hold of that first one. It’s been there in my house for 50 years, although I can scarcely believe time has flown that quickly.”
Also taking pride of place in the Edwards household is the match ball from that 1967 Paris game, because Welsh wing Dewi Bebb shoved it up the scrumhalf’s shirt to ensure he could keep it.
“It was a wonderful memento of a wonderful day and I’ve still got the ball in my house. What I remember most is just how quickly it went. I couldn’t believe it when the referee blew the final whistle,” says Edwards.
“Despite the passing of time, one thing has remained constant. In Welsh rugby, expectations are so great that anything which doesn’t deliver disappoints a nation.
“It’s been a bit like that in this Six Nations. At times, Wales have been brilliant and we’ve marvelled at the performances, at other times they have left the public wanting far more.
“I guess it’s been like that right through the decades from when I was playing and will never change.
“But let’s back Rob Howley’s team to come through their final test this year and win. That’s my only message to the side of today – to get another ‘W’ nailed down. That’s always the case in international rugby.”